The Voters Have Spoken: Sessions wins primary

Okay, all you Republican complainers, we Sessions Watchers don't want to hear any more tales of woe about how you wish someone would vote against the corrupt, hypocritical Pete Sessions; if only, you've told us, someone would run in the primary, you'd vote for "the other guy."

Well, this year, you had a choice, but at this writing, with 36 of 188 precincts reporting, Pete Sessions is on the way towards easily winning this one, with 84% of the vote so far.

Still, David Smith's 15% is a very good showing for a newcomer to this race.

Voter turnout was low; in Sessions' own precinct, Precinct 2222, for instance, only 110 people showed up to vote, and ten of them voted for David Smith. Not bad at all.

So Sessions lives on to fight in the general election against Libertarian John Jay Myers and Democrat Grier Raggio, and all you GOPers who say you want Sessions out have one more chance to get it right.

UPDATE: With 100% Reporting, the final numbers are:
David Smith (REP) 16.28%, 5,930 votes
Pete Sessions (REP) 83.72%, 30,492 votes
Total # of votes: 36,422

In the Democratic primary, Grier Raggio, running unopposed, won 7,460 votes.

Voter turnout: Democrats--5.01%, Republicans--8.63 %

Not bad for a primary, but it sure would be nice to see voter turnout in double digits, at least.

Dallas Morning News endorses Pete Sessions

No big surprise here, but the Dallas Morning News gave Pete Sessions their endorsement in the March GOP primary. Yesterday, when Sharon Grigsby announced on her blog that the endorsement would be in today's paper, one of our Sessions Watch readers posted this snarky note on her blog offering to do it for them:

I'll help write your endorsement of Pete Sessions:

"We wish Pete Sessions weren't so corrupt, we wish he cared more about the constituents he represents, we wish he'd give us a straight answer on questions instead of roundabout non-answers; in fact, we wish he was a totally different person. But we can't give the endorsement to a totally different person, we have to give it to Pete Sessions, 'cause we just like him. Don't ask us why, we just do! We really, really like him!"

C'mon, editorial board. Prove me wrong.

The endorsement wasn't quite as obviously sycophantic as that, just your standard "power of incumbency" nod, saying that Sessions is a better choice because he's been there longer, and the other guy just doesn't have the experience!

But they overlook the fact that he's not much of a leader in Congress. According to GovTrack, "Sessions is a follower according to our statistical analysis of bills in this legislative session. Sessions tends to cosponsors the bills of other Members of Congress who do not cosponsor Sessions’s own bills...Peter Sessions has sponsored 81 bills since Jan 7, 1997 of which 70 haven't made it out of committee and 2 were successfully enacted."

And the Dallas Morning News actually had the nerve to slam challenger David Smith for being partisan--after Pete Sessions said the GOP should use the Taliban as "model for insurgency. The Taliban! Not only is Sessions a hyper-partisan who can't work across party lines--or even with members of his own party--to get bills passed, he can't even find any "good guys" to identify with, he'd rather side with the enemy! Pete Sessions is one of the reasons Washington has turned into such a toxic hyper-partisan cesspool.

At best, we hoped for a "no endorsement" from Dallas Morning News, thinking the paper might follow the lead of all the Republican organizations that have refused to endorse Pete Sessions this time around. But there you have it, another endorsement from Dallas Morning News for Pete Sessions. No surprise there.

Pete Sessions parks in fire lane for endorsement interview!

Actually, it was his assistant Emily Davis who parked in the fire lane at the Dallas Morning News, since she drove him to the interview and was there to comb his hair before he met the editors--as reported by David Smith, who reviewed the interview process on his blog: Review: Dallas Morning News Editorial Board endorsement interview.

But, seriously, isn't that just typical of Pete Sessions, allowing his assistant to park in a fire lane, assuming everybody else's rules don't apply to him?

To the Sessions Watchers who've been badgering the Dallas Morning News over the past few days, asking the editorial board if they're planning on ignoring this race, you can stop now. They actually did an endorsement interview, so they should be making their decision in a few days.

From past experience with Dallas Morning News, we expect something along the lines of their half-hearted endorsement of Pete Sessions over Will Pryor in 2006, in which the editorial board had a litany of "wishes" that Pete Sessions would be a totally different person, but endorsed him anyway.

At Sessions Watch, we have our own set of "wishes" for the Dallas Morning News in their coverage of Pete Sessions, starting with our wish that they would comment in print on his inability to give a straight answer to anything.

In debates, when Pete Sessions is speaking to a bipartisan group that isn't packed with his supporters, his roundabout answers actually get laughs from the crowd. So why does the Dallas Morning News constantly give him passes on his obvious lack of knowledge on the issues?

According to David Smith, Sessions performed as we've come to expect him to in the interview:

And to be honest, I'm not sure that Rep. Sessions answered a single question he was asked! He used words like "leadership" and "reducing spending," even referring to my bringing up the Allen Stanford affair as--I have to make sure to get this right--I LOVED this term!--"a political characterization by a political opponent." Totally blew off the issue....

Readers of Sessions Watch may not agree with everything David Smith proposes, but at least he would be able to conduct an honest debate, using actual facts to back up his ideas instead of throwing the word "freedom" around for a cheap applause line.

C'mon, TX-32 Republicans, you've been campaigning for a GOP primary challenger since you first got stuck with Sessions back in 2004. Vote now, or forever hold your peace.

Early Voting Starts Today!

It is not the policy of Sessions Watch to endorse candidates, but then again, we've never had anyone run against Pete Sessions in the GOP primary before. So you know what to do, Republicans. You've been telling us for years that you'd vote for anyone who ran against Pete Sessions, so here's your chance to put your vote where your mouth is and vote for "the other guy," David Smith.

It's easy--just vote for the very first name you see on your ballot! David Smith is listed before Pete Sessions; not only that, but he's the very first name on the ballot, since Congressional races are listed before the Governor's race.

The GOP ballot is available at this link from Dallas County Elections: Republican Party Primary Election.

For Democrats, it's the same easy vote; Grier Raggio is listed first on the ballot, no opponents, before the list of candidates for Governor. The Democratic Party ballot is available at Democratic Party Primary Election.

David Smith's congressional campaign website is at this link: David Smith for Congress and his blog is here: David Smith for Congress blog.

Grier Raggio's congressional campaign website is at this link: Raggio for Congress.

Early voting runs Tuesday through Friday, February 16, 2010 - February 19, 2010 8:00 A.M. - 5:00 P.M.; Saturday, February 20, 2010, Sunday, February 21 1:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m., then again the next week, Monday-Friday February 22 - February 26, 7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.

Pete Sessions dodges primary challenger at town hall

At a town hall meeting Saturday morning, Pete Sessions used a staff member to help him scoot out without having to face talking to primary challenger David Smith--no big surprise to Sessions Watchers who've seen him cut and run after debates to avoid constituents. What a coward.

None of the Sessions Watch writers were available to cover Saturday's town hall meeting, but David Smith has a good account of the event posted at The Examiner: "Same old same old" at Sessions Town Hall. The title is a direct quote from an attendee, who stopped to talk to Mr. Smith after listening to Pete Sessions for long enough.

According to David Smith, about 1/3 of attendees were friends of Pete Sessions--again, no big surprise since Sessions was quoted over the summer as saying, "The days of you having a town hall meeting where maybe 15 or 20 of your friends show up -- they're over. You've now got real people who are showing up -- and that's going to be a factor."

Uh, Pete--town hall meetings were never intended as a party for your friends. Those "real people showing up" are called "constituents." You know, the people you're supposed to be serving in Washington? They'd like to hear from you every now and then!

If any Sessions Watch readers went to the town hall, feel free to post your impressions of the event in the comment box below.

Sessions Watch Endorses Somebody Else in 2010!

Sessions Watch is a non-partisan blog dedicated to highlighting the gaffes, corruption, and evasiveness of our congressman, Pete Sessions.

While we don't make partisan endorsements, we can say this much--we endorse Somebody Else in 2010! (In the interest of fairness, the order of the following essays was determined by coin toss, and does not indicate partisan preference on the part of the writer):

Republicans: Finally, you have a candidate running against Pete Sessions in the March 2 GOP Primary. His name is David Smith, who writes for the Dallas County Republican Examiner. Although portrayed by the media as a "farther to the right than Sessions" right-wing extremist Tea Party Supporter, Sessions Watchers on both sides of the aisle have dismissed that as media hype. In reading his articles, we've formed the opinion that David Smith is an an honest fiscal conservative who thinks Congress should work for the people instead of lobbyists. His article have consistently criticized Pete Sessions questionable ethics, with particular emphases on the blimp earmark. Sessions Watch encourages Republican Precinct Chairs to meet David Smith tonight at his announcement party and to consider helping out with his campaign. Information at this link: Announcement of candidacy for US House District 32 and campaign kick-off event

Democrats: Liberal Democrats who've given half-hearted support to past candidates they felt were too "middle of the road" are fired up in support of Grier Raggio. If his name sounds familiar, it's because he's the husband of Judge Lorraine Raggio, and the son of women's rights pioneer Louise Raggio (also known as The Texas Tornado). Grier is a lawyer, and although this will be his first foray into politics, he's given generously to the Democratic Party over the years and is already going where Pete Sessions fears to tread--into the District to meet potential constituents, conducting his own "listening tour." Sessions Watchers on both sides of the aisle are confident that Grier Raggio would put the needs of the District ahead of party politics and that he would shun influence-peddling from lobbyists. Democrats are invited to read more about Grier Raggio at his campaign website Raggio for Congress and to make a donation at Grier Raggio's Act Blue Page.

Pete Sessions will have GOP Primary Challenger!

From Dallas County Republican Examiner:

Today I am proud to announce my candidacy for the 32nd Congressional District from the Great State of Texas and I want you to be the first to know. My decision to run has not been made lightly, and I can no longer continue to witness the reckless behavior of our government. I respect your hard work as the backbone of the local Republican Party and look forward to meeting you, working with you and hearing your views on the pressing issues facing our nation and Texas' 32nd District.

I grew up in Farmers Branch and graduated from R.L. Turner High School. I went on to earn degrees in music education and finance (MBA) from the University of North Texas and am now a Corporate Finance and Accounting Analyst. I have always voted Republican, even in my youth, and participated in the Denton County Republican Party before returning to Dallas County after the last election cycle. My concentration the last two years has involved lobbying for reform in the Texas transportation system. This experience has included speaking from the steps of the Texas Capitol at a march / rally last spring and testifying before the Sunset Commission of the Texas Legislature last summer, and contributed to the death of the Trans Texas Corridor earlier this year. I was also honored to speak on several resolutions at the 2008 Denton County Republican Convention.

I am a conservative Republican that endorses the State Platform, and as a corporate accounting professional, I am also a strong fiscal conservative. And sadly I recognize that record budget deficits under Republican leadership led to the exponentially greater debt spending that we see today. I know that our government is broke, in more ways than one, and pledge to do the job our current leadership is failing to perform.

My campaign will focus on issues affecting Texas' 32nd District and our government: Accountability, Fiscal Responsibility and the Economy. In coming days you will learn more about my campaign as I move forward to Victory in 2010! I hope to earn your support and your vote, and am looking forward to meeting each of you soon...

Thanks for stepping up to the plate, David, and good luck to you--you'll need it. Pete Sessions is a dirty fighter, he'll refuse to debate you, he'll pay kids to pull up your political signs (and might even get caught doing it himself), and he'll send out lurid glossy fliers accusing you of stuff you never did. Stay calm, stay cool, stay positive, and let him dish it out and look like the bad guy.

The Sessions Watch team encourages Republican precinct chairs to attend David Smith's announcement party and fundraiser; details at The Examiner, at this link: Announcement of candidacy for US House District 32 and campaign kick-off event.